What should I do if my skin is sunburned
- 3 min reading time
Summer is coming! Yay, bare legs and bring on that exotic tan! But what if in all your enthusiasm you forgot to apply SPF or accidentally fell asleep (or both) and your skin is suddenly bright red and feels painfully sunburned? Yes, I speak from experience...been there, done that! So here are some tips for some cooling and relief!
Help! I'm burned!
You had a wonderful day in the sun, chilling by the pool or on the beach! A soft breeze...enjoy! Then you don't quickly realize that the sun was burning hard on your skin and at the end of the day you still feel a painfully sensitive red colored tan that you didn't really have in mind! So what now?
COOL DOWN AND HYDRATE!
It is important that you let your skin cool down first. Therefore, take a refreshing shower or place a cloth soaked in cold water over your burned skin. In the meantime, also place a wet cloth (or a few) in the freezer so that you can later put it on your skin to cool it down.
Oh, and make sure you hydrate yourself from the inside out, so knock back a few glasses of water and stay hydrated!
TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN!
Once you’ve cooled down a bit in the shower, pat your skin gently but not completely dry. DO NOT RUB! While your skin is still slightly damp, rub in a good moisturizer or after sun to seal in moisture. Burning your skin dries it out and draws moisture to the surface.
A moisturizer with Aloe Vera has a cooling and soothing effect and reduces redness...you can use it :-)! You can also let it cool down in the fridge before applying it to your skin.
If you really have blisters, smear them well with Vaseline.
Leave all your other skincare products alone until your skin has calmed down a bit, your burnt skin is a bit more sensitive now. This can take a week.
STAY OUT OF THE SUN!
As long as your skin is still recovering from that nice day with the result of a skin like a tomato, it is better to stay out of the sun as much as possible. Of course, you cannot avoid this completely. Make sure that your skin is covered as much as possible with loose, airy clothing, something on your head and don't forget to apply SPF to your face (at least factor 30)!
MILK ON YOUR SKIN!
What? Milk? Yes, you read that right. Milk contains vitamins A and D which help repair your damaged skin. Soak a washcloth in milk and dab it on your skin (better in the shower, because otherwise it's such a mess).
NO MAKEUP FOR A TIME!
I understand that you want to camouflage the redness a bit, but it is really better to stick to cooling and soothing moisturizers for a while. You can do it!
ASPIRIN!
What can help your sunburned skin heal is aspirin or ibuprofen. If you want to do this, it is important to do this especially in the first few hours after the sunburn. Only then will it have an anti-inflammatory effect and relieve the pain.
Conclusion
"OMG! I'm never forgetting to apply SPF again!" That's right! Let's not let that happen again! So NEVER EVER AGAIN forget to put your sunscreen in your bag, reapply it every two hours, get out of the sun when you feel your skin getting too warm, wear something on your head and keep drinking! And I'm talking water, not cocktails! Not too much of it ;-).
Enjoy your summer without getting burned!
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